Gorgeous 3D Animated Remake of the Original Zelda Opening

3D version of the introduction to Legend Of Zelda.

Yeah, just as the title says. This particular recreation of the classic title screen/opening scroll of the original Legend of Zelda comes to us from fan community member Justin Berman (or, if you prefer YouTube usernames, timelessXripple), and it’s really something special.I’d like to take a further moment to discuss the background art of the mountains and waterfall used in that opening shot - namely, how they look exactly like the image that comes to mind when I think of “Zelda”. As much as I love the various visual styles the series has taken over the years, no exact one of them has struck me as the singular style that screams “Zelda”, but I personally feel this sole image is the closest approximation to it I’ve ever felt.

Yeah, that probably sounds a bit crazy and is bound to raise some eyebrows, but hear me out for a second. Maybe it’s just my nostalgia (or alternatively, my bizarre and nonsensical brain functions), but I don’t think of a single visual style when I think of Zelda - and no, I don’t think of all of them either. Whenever a discussion about art styles inevitably shows up over in the forums, I try to articulate how I think Zelda should visually “feel”, but can’t find a way to do so without awkward written paragraphs.

But now I can just link the opening shot of this video. Upon closer examination, it looks like a hybrid of the painterly style seen in Skyward Sword and the detail of Twilight Princess, coupled with the coloration seen in the oldest games in the series.

Anyway, I think it’s safe to say Justin has done a great job on this little video - outside of the bright green bars that hover awkwardly in and out of frame and some shakiness, this is definitely A-class work.

What do you think of this video, or even art styles for Zelda in general?

The same could be said for the original NES intro since it comes with a damn manual. Or any intro in modern games for that matter, since they're almost-always pulled from a cinematic E3 trailer 'n such.